Q&A With Coach Davies

Hey Coach;
My schedule is so busy I?m usually budgeted only visit per day. I?m exceeding my limit here. We?ll start a separate future thread on soccer (get Coach Balie involved) and go on for quite some time! I know you got your start in soccer, so I eagerly await the Renegade Training for Soccer book.

But for now, back to baseball. By the time we?ve gone through the high-school pre-season (Jan/Feb) through the Pony and Little League All-Star games which just finished, I?m seeing the usual flare-up of elbow and shoulder tendonitis; basically cases of ?little-league elbow?. In the few weeks I have before Fall-ball starts, I?m evaluating ways to rehab sore arms, but mostly prevent it from happening. A lot of time is being spent on proper throwing mechanics

In-season conditioning included push-ups, ab crunches, pull-ups (all in their many variations), burpees, med-ball work, up-right rowing and wrist rolls.
So now I want to put a little more emphasis on strengthening the shoulder complex. I agree with you about the technique being critical. We have introduced these athletes to cleans with a push press and snatches. So far the weight has been extremely light to ensure the form is perfect. We even do overhead squats holding nothing more than a broom handle or a baseball bat, just trying to get some range of motion in the glute-ham complex.
If I added rotator cuff exercises using bands (i.e. internal and external rotation with and without upper arm abducted) I thought it might help. But I recently ran across a study (I think it was by the NSCA) that showed the same benefit to the shoulder from other forms of rotational work, including pushups, overhead pressing movements.
I?m interested in your thoughts and experience fit he band work is necessary or can the time be better spent?

? Coach Clarke -

Kligor

In response to your question - I have very definite training protocols for combative athletes but for your situation it may be easier if you first provide me some information on what your training presently consists of.

I would also suggest you take a look at some of the basic “Renegade 101” reference summaries on my site. It might provide more insight and a better starting ground for you.

On a second note - I really have to comment on the “celebrity” thing. I sincerely hope you were joking, if not, you should be. If so, you “got me” but if not and considering there are many children who read this forum, my conscience won’t allow me to escape making a comment. As I so often to say, please take this rant in the good intention it is meant.

I am likely stepping over my boundaries but I don’t mind saying you shouldn’t feel that I am or anyone else in the exercise / health / s&c area is a “celebrity”. Not now, not ever.

In situations like this, sometimes it is easy to use a phrase such as “in the grand scheme of things” but this isn’t one of those situations. In the most common of everyday occurences, no-one in the “profession” should be considered anything remotely akin to celebrity status and that is best left to say people such as the parents who mentor their children, the school teachers who educate, members of the medical profession who heal the sick or the many other professions who serve the public.

I apologize if this rant is somewhat objectionable but I do it with good intent.

With that aside let me know how I can help. I’m always around…

In faith,

Coach Davies

Thanks for the advice! I went to your site, and found a bunch of great articles, but no “renegade 101”, so could you please direct me to it? Thank you.

As for the celebrity thing, I don’t mean I view you guys as celebrities in the traditional sense, like one would view, say, britney spears. Maybe celebrity wasn’t a good word. What I meant was, whenever I see that a new contributor for T-mag opens a semi-guest forum, I see a great opportunity to ask a question! As TC wrote in one of his atomic dogs, I see every word a T-mag contributor says as “auditory gold.” I guess it’s more a notion of respect and admiration, rather than ecstacy, as would be with actual celebrtities.
That’s what I meant by “celebrity.” Glad to clear that up.

Coach C - good to hear back from you. Yeah, a soccer thread will be fun one day especially if we can get youth coaches from around the world. One of the plans with the upcoming Soccer book is that it will be published in a variety of languages as well.

With regards to your baseball players, certainly one of the concerns is technical but it is akin to the horse leading the cart - without the proper physical development they can’t perform in the desired manner. No idea what that has to do with the “horse-cart” metaphor but you know me with the whole western stagecoach thing…lol

Looking at your work, my first concern is hip, core strength and mobility work. Are you performing any of the standard dynamic preliminary work? Lets also address some of the work your doing with the bat…if you can send me your email address I can send you an mpeg of some work. Lets also look at the med ball work and size of ball your using. Also lets consider more posterior chain work and static poses (planks, side planks, supermans) as well. There’s also an attachment to the band work we can discuss that is simply amazing.

Other than that, I’m still waiting for my tryout invite. LOL

talk with you soon,

In faith,

Coach Davies

Hey Coach,

As far as the Snowshoeing/Snowboarding combination goes you should check out Tuckerman’s Ravine near Mount Washington in NH if you are ever in the neighborhood. Good stuff I hear.

On to training. To asnwer your question yes, I have been doing the Dive training and I love it. I look forward to any other suggestions you might offer.

On another note I have been training a lot of younger athletes as of late and I am using basing their training on “The Wheel.” I have heard others opinions about what type of strength training is approriate for young athletes but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this coach.

So far I have been using slow eccentric tempos with Iso-pauses and fast concentrics mostly with body weight exercises and some upper body multi-joint exercises. I have also been using a lot of weighted GPP movements such as Farmer’s Walks, weighted hurdle mobility drills, resited walking lunges forward and backwards. Are these appropriate?

Are these tempos appropriate for atheltes ages 11-15 and what kinds of sets and reps would you recommend? So far I have just been letting the quality of the work dictate how much volume we do each day.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for your time!

Coach, I first wanted to let you know that it is your fault that my 6 year old daughter fell off her bike!! I e-mailed you back in March with a question about Fat to Fire I&II. I was then 5’8", 205, 18-19% bf. After doing FTF I&II (interspersed with OVT) I am now (5’8" still!), 186, 10.4% bf, and by far more flexible and athletic then I have ever been in my life!! A few weeks ago while my daughter was learning to ride her bike, whe wanted me to run along next to her, at first to help balance the bike and then for moral support. After running with her for several hundred yards, I got bored and started running backwards and carioci(sp?). She promptly fell off!! When the tears dried, she said that I had made her lose her focus by running silly! If not for renegade training I would have never been running backwards or sideways with my kids!! After doing traditional BB type workouts of one bodypart and lots of isolation excercise, I find that I much prefer the renegade style of training! The people at the gym at work look at me strangely when I do the tumble warmup!
Sorry abot the long intro, but I wanted to let you know how much I feel that you have helped me out. On to a question. I do not feel comfortable designing my own renegade type workout. I was looking at your site and trying to decide which program would be best to try next for a 37 year old guy. Or should I try one of the T-mag programs you have written. My goals are to get into better shape/ stay in shape to be able to keep up with my four kids ages 6 and under. Hopefully I can stay in shape so that as my kids age and particiapte in sports I will be able to help them as much as I can. I go into work early to train, but my time is limited to a workout of 60-70 minutes.

Thanks,

Ken

Ken,
I have used both the Zero-60 and the Ripped programs and can complete them in the 70 minutes or less requirement.

Outstanding job on the goal reaching.

Hey Coach,

I just ordered an 84-pound X-Vest and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival! I have been reading about how you have incorporated the X-Vest into your programs and I look forward to adding it to my training.

I have a nice fishing trip planned to Northern NH later this month and part of the trip always includes some hiking and fishing river pools so I think I’ll fry my legs by loading up the X-Vest and enjoying the great outdoors at the same time.

On to my question! Any tips on incorporating this new tool into my training?

Will the new book have any X-Vest training info as well?

Thanks again!

Kligor

just visit my site, renegadetraining and you’ll find it on the bottom left border. A fair amount of info.

Let me know how I can help as much as possible.

In faith,

Coach Davies

Kyle

Awesome move. You’ll love the 84 pounder…and that size comes with my Firefighter program so you’ll enjoy everything in it.

BTW…a little suggestion. What you carry in one direction with the Xvest - you have to carry back. I hike in mine but virtually everyone I go with wonders how to get back from the halfway point. So get accustomed to it long before you go on any hikes.

You’ll find the new program layered with Xvest use and protocols. We can discuss more if you like or even if others want to go over Xvest based training.

BTW…I am available for fishing trips

: )

In faith,

Coach Davies

Ken

Well that sounds awesome about your fitness…of course not about your daughter falling but a great story …

Of course the next thing we have to talk about is getting out with your daughter Snowboarding or other activities (hope you got your MTB tuned-up). Yeah, there I go again - lol

Re programs - I find most people / trainers are enjoying the “ripped” and “0-60” programs the most. BTW…if you are ordering please make use of the promotions including the “dedication”. Just let me know if you need more assistance.

In faith,

Coach Davies

Hey Coach Davies, I was wondering… on the fat to fire programs you suggest a 402 tempo… and then say “basically emphasizing speed of the bar” these 2 statements seem to contradict each other… 6 seconds to complete a rep seems awful (sp?) slow to me

What are the types of acceleration training for a palyer of fottball and what are the benefits of it, and how often do you give it.

Coach Davies,
I am doing some weighted GPP with a ruck sack and a 40lb sand bag (or as I like to call it, my ghetto x-vest). I was wondering if I should be able to run with the ruck or should I just hike around with it? And when using complex lifts (Bear, snatch complex, ect) are they better suited for a low rep range (1-3) or a higher one? And one last thing, what would be some of the best exercise for preparing myself dor a strongman contest (in the gym) if I practice the events 2x a week?
Thanks in advance
Will42

Coach,

Good point about “whatever I hike up I have to hike back.” I’ll start small and work my way up.

Any time you want to hit the streams for some brook trout let me know. You can get some great reactive training hopping from rock to rock on the way to the next pool!

Kyle Battis

timmy89…basically when you see bar-speed emphasized, let it rip. I would suggest the 30-65% range. Please remember to adhere to posted training concepts and never compromise quality.

Hope that helps.

In faith,

Coach Davies

Tat

Respectfully, your question of “types of acceleration training” might be the broadest I could imagine. I think there is an illusion that many young coaches/athletes are fed that you can add such and such “acceleration” work into a much broader program and you will gain “game-speed”. My belief is that the entire program needs to work in harmony to truly maximize performance.

This paragraph from “RTF” might help explain better:

“Clearly, when discussing speed and strength training for a football player,many things must be considered. Most important, to achieve the goal of
producing a faster, more explosive athlete, all elements of training must
support that intent. Paramount to success is the development of strength and mass such that it translates to improving sport-specific power and speed. The governing concept of effective training is simple: Develop explosive speed and power such that you can control the ebb and flow of the competition and therefore assist in achieving victory. Speed is the well-trained athlete?s elixir for
success.”

Please take a look at your specific concern again and I will be pleased to discuss.

In faith,

Coach Davies

Hey Coach Davies,

Any idea on a release date for the golf book? I have been piddly shitting around with my own weight program at the moment and could really use a new fresh look at training. Plus with the quality of your knowledge bombs, i’ll likley have to send you a percentige of my winnings once I reach the next level. Can’t wait for this bad boy to come out.

Vegita ~ Prince of all Sayajins

Golf book will be available August 1 and going to be an exciting release. There’s a lot to it more then what anyone expects.

If you intend to order I would suggest you do so before then as the price goes up considerably after.

Hmm…about those prize winnings LOL…let me know where you play. I’ll be in the north-east in a few weeks and planning on getting out a lot.

In faith,

Coach Davies

Will

I wouldn’t suggest running with the ruck as I dont know if it will impact negatively on your posture. Remember that with any vested work or for that matter any weighted GPP - dont compromise posture.

Regarding non-conforming object lifts, I use the same protocols with my focus lifts.

Re strongman…tell me more of what you are doing in your training and I might be able to assist but much of it will focus upon varying mediums in your existing lifting program.

In faith,

Coach Davies